Category: Blog

I share my healing journeys as a way to help others find their own paths. This month I had my Hollyhock healing journey published in the Amethyst Review. I share this on my writing page where I have other essays. In the Garden of Hollyhock Wishing you blessings on your healing journey. Judy

I’m trying to figure out a way to help patients who have severe or bothersome chronic pain. When there are so many causes, it’s hard to find a way to reach patients, especially when they’re overwhelmed. At least 85% of people with low back pain don’t have an obvious biological – or physical – cause…

Working as a family doctor for almost 40 years, I am all too aware of how hard it is to cure chronic pain. My own lived experience with CP taught me a valuable lesson in humility. I too found lifestyle changes ridiculously hard to manage. Thank goodness I have the background in CP work. I…

Information reaches us through our senses and also from messaging from different areas of our brain. Our thoughts arise after the brain’s prefrontal cortex and the rest of the limbic system light up. The thoughts generated are automatic. Our thoughts become habits. “99% of our thinking activity (cognitive activity) may be nonconscious” Emmanuel Donchin. A pain…

An interesting patient shared one of their most helpful tools. Graded Exposure. They have experienced multiple concussions with widespread neurological and cardiovascular symptoms including fainting, fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness. Specialists did tests and they were all negative. They had autonomic nervous system dysregulation which happens in the Limbic System and the Autonomic Nervous Systems.…

Just a quick note about Vitamin D. Please make sure you get at least 10 minutes of sun per day, even more if possible in summer to catch up with Vitamin D loss over the lower sun winter months. Vitamin D3 is available as a supplement but sometimes not that well absorbed. Use a sunblock…

The Limbic System is our survival brain area. It overrides the thinking processes when the brain receives the message of danger. Emotional or physical pain can cause the limbic system to be hyper-aroused. This sabotages our health and recovery. Here are two new videos which can help explain how the limbic system can affect our…

Our emotions are linked to the different places in the Limbic System. There is no “wrong” emotion, but emotions that make us feel bad, are usually linked to the past or the future. Emotions that give us a sense of bliss, are those that are in the present. Live in the present. The grounding tools…

Pain that is not responding to usual treatment needs more work to manage than ordinary pain. If you require opioids or other pain meds on a regular basis, then you have what I call intractable pain. Or Overwhelming pain. Here is a video that can help along with Step 3 and Step 4 explanations of…

I listened to Dr. William Li’s interesting video on ageing and specifically how the muscles of our legs get affected. He discussed the types of food that improve muscle strength, of course along with stretching and exercise. These are the foods he ranked in order of importance: Apple peels – please wash first and use…